The "Paris of the North"?

People like to compare different cities and sometimes they gives nicknames for some reason, f.e., Vilnius due to big Jewish population was once called as the "Jerusalem of the North", St Petersburg due to it's numerous canals and bridges - "Venice of the North", etc. Riga in 30ies had a nickname "Paris of the North" (although not the only one - some others "Parises of the North" are Belfast and Norwegian town Tromso and Dawson in Canada). Actually, the comparison with Paris seems quite inaproppriate for Riga. Visually, the cities aren't similar at all - while Paris architecture is more or less all about Hausmannian style, Riga thrives mostly on Art Nouveau, Art Deco/Functionalism and older wooden houses. While Paris buildings are mostly greyish white, Riga's comes in all colours. Only reason why Riga could be regarded similar to Paris, is it's "chic", aristocratic appearance. But I don't like these nicknames. Riga is too unique to be compared to any other city. Btw - in the photo you see Riga city canal and National Opera.

The "Paris of the North"?
Reviewed by Ikars Kublins
on
Friday, February 26, 2010
Rating: 5